India’s 500 MWe fast breeder is on track for 2014 completion

India’s first fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu is the first ever commercial fast breeder nuclear reactor currently under its final stages of construction. It will be a 500 MWe reactor and should be completed around Sept, 2014.

The PFBR can use the thorium fuel cycle and it’s an established fact that India is home to world’s second largest reserves of Thorium.

The PFBR at Kalpakkam uses Uranium-238 (not Thorium) to breed the new fissile material inside a sodium-cooled fast reactor. India’s ‘Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is responsible for harnessing the power produced by the reactor.

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